OTTAWA — A new report suggests tuition fees are becoming less affordable for many Canadians, forcing an increasing number of students to take on heavy debt loads.
The report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that since 1990, average tuition and compulsory fees for undergraduates have risen by 6.2 per cent annually — three times the rate of inflation.
It now costs, on average, $6,186 a year to study at a Canadian university, and that doesn’t include the cost of books or food or lodging.
The left-leaning think-tank adds that extrapolating from past growth and announced government intentions, that number will rise to $7,330 in four years.
The report also shows there is wide divergence in the cost of post-secondary education across the country.
It ranges from low-cost provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador ($2,861) and Quebec ($3,278), to high-cost jurisdictions like Ontario ($7,513) and Alberta ($7,061).
In four years, tuition for undergraduates will vary from a low of $2,893 in Newfoundland to a high of $9,231 in Ontario.
For Quebec, the report shows fees would have gone up to $4,472 if the recently defeated Liberal government’s controversial proposals for increases were adopted. That would move the province from the second least expensive to third, behind Manitoba and Newfoundland.
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